Pages

Monday, June 13, 2011

Reading the Bible without meditating on it, is like trying to eat without swallowing. ~ Anonymous I believe a vibrant spiritual life must include the reading and meditating on the Word of God. Can we really enjoy reading God's Word? I never read a book twice. What's the use when you know the end of the story? I do re-read nonfiction once in a while. But I read the Bible over and over and over. The crazy thing is how "new" it seems each time I read it. And yet, in the newness there is a familiarity that touches a place of home in my heart.

I bore easily. I really hate to admit it. If my daughters read this they will laugh because I never allowed them to say they were bored. I always had a chore for them to do if they were bored. How can you be bored when life has so much to offer -- a book to read, a hobby to enjoy, a story to write, a picture to draw, enough to never be bored?

The reason I say I bore easily is that I don't like to do anything more than once. Not reading, not a craft project, not even cooking. So I try to keep my Bible reading creative and fresh.

To keep the freshness, I:1. Read a different translation. RB bought the Zondervan's Comparative Study Bible for me. This features four translations across the double page spread. I don't get as far each day by the time I read four translations, but I feel like I grasp the verses and come away with a clear idea of the chapters.

2. Listen to the Bible on CD or MP3. I purchased The Message on CD for Shawn last year for Christmas. The neat thing about the Remix version is the wide variety of voices, including Steve Green, Stephen Curtis Chapman, and Rebecca St. James.3. Use a Chronological Bible instead of reading Genesis-Revelation. This publication begins with God creating the world and continues in the order the events took place. Emily recently requested one, so I picked up on the idea and bought one for her (We have always tried to purchase study Bibles for our girls to keep their reading fresh). 4. Record thoughts in a notebook. I like to read with pen in hand. (If you like to mark in your Bible, this is the best highlighter I've found: Automatic Crayon Pencil: 8 colors.) Choose a verse to copy, memorize and read, and record some commentary on the verse. Carry your notebook with you and while waiting on appointments, work on memorizing, and be ready to write down a thought God brings to mind. It keeps you meditating on the Word all day long. In Psalm 1 we read of the blessed man who "delights in the law of the Lord and in his law does he meditate day and night."

5. Use a Bible Study to help focus on a subject. I like the Women of Faith series. It provides variety and practicality, particularly relating to the 21st Century Christian woman. Another one I like is New Hope Bible Studies for Women. Studying with a friend is often helpful, too.

Long ago I read that we should pray, "Open my eyes that I may find wonderful things in your law" (Psalm 119:18), before beginning our Scripture reading. This helps corral my thoughts, and reminds me the reason I am reading is to learn more about God and His plan in my life. I need the enlightening of the Holy Spirit for the Word to become alive and remain active in my life.

Be an Ezra. The Bible tells us that "he devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord" (Ezra 7:10). Become passionate about the Book God gave to us. Read, study, meditate on it and practice it. Let the Word saturate your heart and delight in it. "Can we really enjoy reading God's Word?" The answer is a resounding yes!

22 comments:

HI Pam. I love this post. I was in my local Christian bookshop yesterday and I was looking at all the bibles. I did see something about a comparative bible. Because of your post I will definitely be going back and looking at it more thoroughly. I've never seen a chronological bible either - I'd love that so I will be checking to see where I can get one of those. God blessTracy

I love the quote at the top. I was at a bible study last night, where we are studying the women of the Bible. I have read about Sarah for YEARS and yet, I still got new revelations, new perspectives of her. There is always something to learn from His Word, I just love that. And I use many colored highlighters too:)

I too have the same belief about reading books twice.Praise God we don't have that with His precious Word......It amazes me so many times how I can read it, have read it, BUT still find something so new and so amazing reading His Word again...Thanks for sharing all these wonderful ways we can dig deeper into the Bible..blessings dear one

I don't re-read books either, but I so agree with you that the Word can be fresh each time I read it. I am always amazed how I can read the same story 10 times and still find something new to take away each time if my heart is looking for it.

Love this post, Pam. I hunger for God's word - something I never dreamed of in my younger years.I began reading the Bible chronologically a few months back - just finished reading 1 Samuel and it was so enlightening to read the Psalms David penned during his times of distress. Looking forward to getting in the the prophetic books alongside Kings and Chronicles.

We are so blessed to have a variety of translations and online study resources.

Dear Pam, the reading and studying of God 's Word is so essential for our lives and spiritual growth. I am enjoying reading the One Year Bible which divides the entitre Bible into daily OT, NT and Psalms an d Provs. for each day. Its gives syuch a balanced view of the Bible. And the readings complement each other and bring about a coherence to the whole thing.

I have a book review on my blog about a book which speaks abiout how the Bible has impacted our world

I'm with you on this and I too bore easily but....reading His Word does something that is better than eating the best meal...it fills me up like nothing else can and it gives me hope. Thanks for this great post.

Oh my - a kindred spirit that bores with the same old, same old all the time! Once I viewed it as a weakness, but now I try to use it for good. (P.S. just ask my friends and family how many times I change my house around in a year's time -- the benefits of course are that it's most always nice and clean behind my furniture! -- smile)

I have recently found a new love for reading books again. But they are non-fiction and always worth the read again. I think I rush through and so I pick up different things again and again. I also read with a pen(cil) and it's awesome to go back to the things I once thought I should work on, remember, etc.

I've heard about the color coded system. I'm heading over to check that out!

Pamela, I love the way you begin each of you blogs with scripture or a quote. You're blog is so inspiring and makes me realize I want to have more scripture and inspiration on my own blog! Thanks for stopping by- I'm so glad I got to see your blog too!